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Albany review 7-15

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 6:55 pm
by weird_el
Yes, it was wonderful! It's never not wonderful. Last night was especially good though. The Palace Theater was the first place I saw Al 3½ years ago and the place where I went from casual fan to die-hard. It holds some great memories.



The theater has a strict no camera policy, so I left mine at home and I enjoyed the show thoroughly without looking through a view finder. The Palace has especially good lighting, and it was better there than any place I've seen Al perform. All the colors are very rich and you can see the individual beams of light. The Dog Eat Dog shadow dancing effect worked especially well here. In fact, it was the first time I noticed that the white spotlight guy did something other than make Al look eerie. I didn't see the shadow dance at OC Fair or Poughkeepsie at all.



During SLN, Al left a silent gap in the "I forgot the next verse" verse. It seems to add to the humor of the song, and although he may have done it before, it's the first time I've noticed it. Another thing that really added to the humor was that 1 cheerleader was really good and the other one was totally clueless. It was a hoot to watch.



The audience wasn't as cooperative in participating. I feel kind of isolated in situations like that. It's still fun -- just not as much fun. After Fat when Al said "good night" he didn't say "I love you all." I was worried for awhile, but he did say it after Yoda, so he does love us afterall.



I waited out by the stage door after the show, and there were some very entertaining guys out there. They did cool a capella doo wop versions of Albuquerque (as much as they could remember) and Hardware Store. One guy could even do "the verse," but he did stop to breathe once or twice. Still very impressive.



Rubén and Bermuda both waved to us from the window above the stage door. Rubén had a nice looking sandwich on marble rye, but he didn't share.



After a short wait, Skip came out with the announcement that Al WOULD do an autograph line. WOOHOO! Only 2 shows for me this year, and I got to see Al after both. SWEET! When I got up to Al I was a little sad when I told him this was probably the last time I'd be able to see him this year. He said "OH NO!" in a lovely, concerned kind of way, and gave me a really nice hug. As he was signing my new t-shirt I asked him if he remembered my name because I forgot it. He asked "how much is it worth to you?" I said $27, and he said "Elizabeth, keep your money :) "

Needless to say, I left very happy, and I'm still all warm and fuzzy about it <sigh>.



So now, I have these strange mixed feelings of joy and sadness (mostly joy). Every experience I've ever had with Al always exceeds my expectations. I don't think I can say that about anyone else I know.



El

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 7:05 pm
by algonacchick
Thanks for the great review. That's cute about saying you forgot your name, and cool that Al remembered it! I'm glad you got a hug after you said it would be your last time seeing Al this tour. I'm sure that hug meant a lot! As always, I love reading your reviews.



Patti



37 days til I see Al

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 7:38 pm
by scottidog
Elizabeth, that's worth more than $27. What a great story. Thanks for sharing.



Whattaguy!

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 12:08 am
by Lauren27
D'oh! I had to leave right after the show because I couldn't get a whole day off work today. When did they start the line for signing?



Man... I should've just ran up to Jon & Jim when I saw them & some other guys standing outside the second bus.



I hope my 4 rolls of pictures came okay atleast :huh:

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 12:19 am
by Squirrelygirl
Awww...That's a very sweet story, El.



The part about Al knowing your name literally gave me goose bumps.



Glad you got to see him again. :)



sg

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 12:22 am
by TMBJon
It's obvious from most of the stories I've read that Al does a pretty good job with remembering fans the second time around but can anyone speak from experience about meeting him the first time? Has anyone ever introduced themselves to Al and found that he actually had already known of them through the internet or something?

-jon

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 12:36 am
by Squirrelygirl
I know I've told this story before, but: When I was going through the meet & greet line, I came up to Al and he said "You must be Squirrelygirl". I just stood there with my mouth open :nervous: , asked him how he knew that, and he just chuckled and smiled. I'd been at amw-a for about 6 mos at that point, but I didn't even know he knew what a "squirrelygirl" was, much less who.



I had described what I would be wearing in concert tracker, so maybe that's what gave it away.



Freaked me out.



sg

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 12:38 am
by TMBJon
whoa!

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 1:00 am
by Shelley
Aw El, what a great review! Al's such a sweetie, I'm so happy you got to say 'goodbye' to him for this tour!



-Shelley

all verklempt

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 4:58 am
by stupidsurgeon27
Awww, that's a sweet story, El, with Al knowing your name like that. That's so wonderful.



-CindyBob